Nail-plate feeder



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J G. GOULD. NAIL PLATE FEEDER...

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' J. .G. GOULD;

NAIL PLATE F DER.

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John 0. GOULD, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

NAIL-PLATE FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 292,299, dated January 22,1884.

' Application filed March 23, 1883. (X0 model.)

To aZZ whom' it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. GOULD, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nail-Plate Feeders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements designed to simplify the construction and benefit the operation of nail plate feeders; and it consists in the novel construction and combinations hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of my specification, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section of my improved feeder. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section upon the line 2 2. Fig. 3 is a section on the'line 3 3. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the gripping-levers. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5 5 Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the gear whereby the eccentric is carried and operated. Fig. 7 is a section of the gear and eccentric upon the line 7 7. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine.

In the drawings, A represents the block whereon the stationary part of the knife by which the nails are severed is supported, and with which it may be integral and A, in broken lines, indicates the moving part of the same knife. Attached to this block are brackets B B. wherein are secured pivots 12, upon which the feeder is oscillated in the usual manner.

Said pivots may be provided with jam-nuts flaring mouth by the continuous bearing d,

both shell and bearing forming part of the sup port D. The barrel E is provided at its nose with the usual springs, e, for holding the plate,

i and also with the cog-teeth e meshing with the teeth of the transversely-vibrating seg ment F. The pinion end of the'barrel is made flaring in the usual manner, though I believe the mouth has heretofore been formed entirely with-in an extension of the barrel, instead of partially within the pinion part, as shown in my drawings. By my construction the extension is rendered unnecessary. The segment Fis pivoted upon a screw, f, and at thepoint of pivoting is confined by the part (1 of the foot D. It is vibrated by the vibration of a lever, G, and the connecting-arm g inserted in the embrace of the retaining-piece f. The lever G is actuated through theoscillation of the rod H, in the end piece, H, of which it is inserted, the motive power being applied to said'rod inthe ordinary manner.

It is frequently necessary to adjust the throw of the segment, and at such times it has been necessary to release the rod at its connection to" the motive device at the farther end. This is very inconvenient because the parts are at a distance from each other, and the rod must of course be secured again as soon as the ad-- justmenthas been made To avoid this inconvenience, instead of providing the rod with the ball end 71, I put that feature upon a separate piece, H, and insert the end of the rod in a recess in such piece and secure it therein by the set-screw h. This enables the operator, without leaving his position, to loosen the set-screw, turn the segment as much as necessary in the adjustment, and tighten the screw, when the operation is complete.

By means of the ball h and its corresponding socket in the foot D, the longitudinal vibration of the feeder is permitted, as well as the oscillation of the rod. The lever I,whereby said longitudinal vibration is caused, is attached to the barrel-support at the side, as. shown, and its farther end rests upon an adjustable eccentric, K, upon the same shaft with the actuating gear-wheel K. If the lever does not follow the eccentric with sufficient certainty,-'a spring or weight may be employed to cause it to do so. In this part of the machine I have dispensed with: the strap running around the eccentric,which was formerly employed, and to which the leverwas rigidly secured, and my object in the change has been to obtain ease of adjustment of the. lever in regulating the oscillating movement of the feeder, and to tip the feeder back'out of the way when it is desired to grind the lower knife, without loosening any fastenings or separating the lever from its holding parts. Vith the 'new construction, one way of adjustment may be practiced by loosening the screw i,whereby l the bracket L by a bolt, 0, and the other lever,

the lever is held to the barrel-support, and turning the lever slightly so that the position of the feeder will be changed by reason of the shifting of the point of contact by the lever with the eccentric. This could not be done with the old construction.

The eccentric I prefer to make adjustable as well as the lever, and I make it adjustable in a direction across its axis of revolution and also around it. It is secured to the gear by the bolts It, which pass through are or substantially are slots k in the eccentric. A third bolt, 717 passes through another are-slot, 7. in the eccentric, and is secured therein by a jamnut, 7;. Instead of being secured to the gear, this third bolt merely passes its point within a radial slot, 7.1", in the gear, and its only purpose is to serve as a guide in moving the eccentric across the center. Of course,with the construction shown, this latter movement is a restricted one, but it is sufficient for the purpose of this machine.

As both the eccentric and gear usually require to be placed upon the shaft without slip ping them over the end thereof, I make them in parts. Thus the gear is made in two halves with diametrical faces corresponding and dovetailing together-that is, one-half is made with a dovetail projection and the other half with a corresponding recess. This is clearly indicated in Fig. 6. To secure a close and perfeet fit of the parts, one part is cast first, and

'then it is placed in the mold and the other half is cast upon it. Of course, the part first cast is smooth, so as to aviod unnecessary friction in separating the parts after the second casting operation. In this manner the halves are so perfectly joined together that no extraneous fastening need to be employed in ordinary cases, especially when the gear is keyed to the shaft by a key located at the joint between the halves, as shown in the drawings. If any other fastening were necessary, it may be found by attaching the eccentric in such manner as to break joints with the gear, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The eccentric is made in approximate horseshoe form, with a conof the gear.

' tric are fitted to each other at the time of cast- I v u neeting-piece uniting the two limbs by dovetail joints with each thereof, and the bolts whereby it is held to the gear pass through slots in the horseshoe part, one into each half The parts composing the eccening in the same manner described in reference to the wheel.

L is a bracket secured to the barrel-support, and supporting at its outer end the grippers, by which the feeding of the plate is accomplished. The plate, while being fed through the barrel to the knives, is supported by a rod, M, (shown in broken lines,) the same be ing provided with a spring-clamp, m, whereby to take hold of the plate. This rod passes between automatically-operated grippers O, which are mounted upon vertical levers OO. One of these levers, O, is secured at its top to O, is pivoted upon pivots 0 0, held in the bracket L. A projection, 0 upon the side of lever 0 passes throughv the lever O, to meet the pivot 0 upon that side. Both levers are united firmly at their feet by the screw 0". A stop-rod, l, the forward end of which comes in contact with the block A at each forward movement of the feeder, rests in the lever O with its end against the adjusting-screw 0, as shown, and it serves to push back the lower ends of the levers and cause them to impart the forward impulse to the plate. The extent of this forward impulse is of course regulated by the screw 0 The rod and lever are kept together by the spring 0.

The gripping ends of the levers are caused to move toward and from each other'in taking hold of and releasing the plate-carrying red by the wedging action upon the diagonal bolt uniting the levers near the top of the surface 0", the plane whereof is at right angles to the line of the bolt. This bolt has a free horizontal movement within the lever O, and moves w1t-h the lever 0 and as thelatter moves a somewhat greater distance than its mate, it follows that the contact of the surface 0 with the bolt, either wedges the levers together or releases them, according to the direction of the movement. The difference in movement here alluded to is due to the fact that the lever O can only be moved the distance permitted by the bolt 0, which is loose in the bracket, while the, other lever is not thus restricted. The gripping-surfaces O are thimbles, and are secured upon the knobs 0 upon the levers by friction only. This insures their bearing-surfaces being in line with the feed at all times, permitting their renewal when worn, and dispenses with the screws by which they were formerly secured. The saddle, it will be noticed, passes above the oscillating rod H, instead of below it, as has been customary. In the latter construction it interferes materially with the proper location of the spout whereby the nails are conducted away from the machine-a difficulty which is obviated by the change.

The operation of the machine is as follows: A blank or plate having been put into the clamp m and positioned in the machine, and the moving knife and other operating parts being put in motion, the upper knife descends and severs a nail-blank. done the barrel and other parts whereby the plate is carried are tilted back through the operation of the eccentric K and the arm I. This motion relieves the grippers from the pressure of the stop-rod I, so that they release their hold upon the platecarrying rod M and swing on their pivots into position for a fresh hold on said rod at a point farther back thereon. Before the next cutting operation, also, the barrel, and with it the plate and rod M, are turned a half-revolution by the throw of the segment F, thereby reversing the plate so As soon as this is the head of the next nail will be cut fromthe other edge thereof. The plate-holding parts are now tilted upward again by the eccentric K and arm I into position with the knives,the grippers being caused to seize the rod M and feed it forward the proper distance by the action thereon of the stop-rod I, which strikes the block A during the forward tilting. The moving knife then descends, a nail is severed, and the same operations are repeated.

I claim- 1. In a nail-plate feeder, the combination, with the gripping-levers, one of which is provided with the wedging-surface 0", of the diagonal bolt 0 substantially as specified.

2.. In a nail-plate feeder, the plate-feeding vdevices, consisting of the levers united at their lower ends, one of them being pivoted and the other being secured to a stationary point, the diagonal bolt, the wedgingsurface 0, and the stop-rod I substantially as specified. I

3. The combination, with the gripping-1e vers, of the gripping-surfaced thimblesO, secured thereon by friction, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the eccentric, the lever resting thereon without being attached thereto, and the pivoted barrel-support to which said lever is attached, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the eccentric, the lever resting thereon without being attached thereto, and the pivoted barrel -support, to which said lever is attached by an adjustable attachment; substantially as specified.

'6. The combination, with the vibrating segment and its operating devices, of the oscillating rod by which said devices are actuated I fied.

JOHN C. GOULDJ Witnesses; v

H; M. IVIUNDAY, EDw. S. EVARTS. 

